Chapter 26
Maeve was taking a brief moment to regroup and gather her emotions. This was a special day and she didn’t want to miss a moment of it. As word had spread of this morning’s magical discovery, because of course she hadn’t been able to keep it to herself, people had come to join in with the celebrations. Lizzie had poured drinks, Nella and Nick had arrived, her dad was now chatting and joking with Hugo, and Esme – who had been on her way to start prepping for lunch at the Angel – had heard from one of Maeve’s co-workers that something exciting was going on and promptly changed direction.
This was the thing about living in a close-knit village; secrets never managed to stay secret for long. It was her dad who’d persuaded Lizzie that she didn’t need to remain anonymous, and everyone had been delighted to learn that his and her mum’s secret benefactor from all those years ago had been found at last.
‘I thought you were mad at me when I saw your texts,’ a relieved Cami was telling Lizzie. ‘I thought you needed me back here to get some more work done. I was panicking .’
‘Oh please! Would I do that to you?’ Lizzie squeezed her arm. ‘I just wanted you here so you didn’t miss all this.’
Cami gazed around, baffled, as another cork was popped and a whoop went up. ‘I still don’t know what’s going on.’
‘You typed up that story this morning,’ Lizzie told her, ‘about me at the Savoy crying about my crappy boyfriend and watching that game show on TV. If Maeve hadn’t overheard me talking about it on the tape, none of this would be happening now. It’s all thanks to you.’
‘Maeve overheard you on the tape?’ Cami looked horrified. ‘I took out my earbud because it was crackling. I thought she’d left the kitchen!’
Maeve said, ‘I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, honestly. There were really bad scuff marks on the floor under the table and I was trying to get rid of them.’
‘I should have double-checked you weren’t there.’ Cami turned from Maeve back to Lizzie. ‘I’m sorry, that was so unprofessional. You could have me sacked for that.’
‘Stop it!’ Lizzie laughed and hugged her. ‘It turned out to be the best thing you ever did.’
Her heart full, Maeve watched and listened as the events of twenty years ago and then this morning were relayed once more with relish. She knew she’d never tire of hearing it, because it was the story of how she’d come to exist. It was wonderful, too, to witness Cami’s stunned reaction . . . and her dad’s laughter as he joined in, contributing details Lizzie had forgotten to mention.
Was this one of the very best days ever ? Without a doubt it was one she’d never forget.
Then a figure Maeve had never seen before in real life appeared in the garden of Pine Lodge, meeting her gaze through the French window then breaking into a grin, and her day suddenly got even better.
God, though. Just look at him. He’d been her guilty secret for months, and now here he was. She’d known he was staying at Hay Hall, had arrived yesterday afternoon, but this was her first sighting of him in the flesh.
And now he was pointing at her, nodding and smiling, for all the world as if he recognised her, which was simultaneously thrilling and embarrassing, because sending that message to him on Instagram the other night had been the single most fangirly thing she’d done in her life.
He had two million followers on Instagram and she’d been one of them since discovering his videos on there last Christmas. The sensible part of her acknowledged that, OK, his performances were a bit cheesy and over the top, like a Vegas act on steroids, but the less sensible part couldn’t stop watching the way he danced and sang along to loud music whilst throwing brushfuls of acrylic paint onto oversized canvases and creating vibrant works of art. Unlike most artists, he wore smart clothes as he worked and wasn’t remotely bothered when they got splattered with paint. He had the looks of a model and the effortless charisma of Harry Styles. Every day, clicking onto Instagram and TikTok, Maeve found herself hoping there’d be a new video posted. When there wasn’t, she would rewatch a couple of his older ones instead. It was out of character for her to feel this way, but at the same time wildly exciting, like having a really hot pretend boyfriend your friends didn’t know about.
It wasn’t as if she was obsessed with Dane Cruse; she just liked looking at him and admiring his tremendous talent.
OK, and the rest of him too.
When he’d announced a couple of weeks ago that he was holding a fan-meet in the Cotswolds, Maeve’s heart had leapt like a salmon jumping upstream. When he’d gone on to explain to his followers where the event was being held – at actual Hay Hall, right here in actual Starbourne – she’d wanted to explode with joy. Normally a lurker on social media where celebrities were involved, the thrill of the discovery had prompted her to respond: That’s where I work!!! This is so exciting!!!! She’d added a string of happy emojis and pressed send, then felt self-conscious about the excessive use of exclamation marks and wondered whether to delete the post in case he thought she was a deranged stalker.
But the following morning, when she next logged into her account, Dane Cruse had liked her reply.
In all honesty she hadn’t expected him to even see it, but he had. And he’d pressed the heart button to let her know.
Every time she looked at the little red heart, she felt a whoosh of happiness. It made her feel so special. Hundreds of other women – and a fair few men – had replied to his announcement, but hardly anyone else had had a personal response from Dane Cruse himself.
And now here he was, looking like a rock star and still maintaining direct eye contact with her. He took a couple of steps sideways and came to stand in the open doorway, his piratical white shirt and black trousers both liberally splashed with every colour of paint.
Maeve moved across the kitchen towards him and he met her halfway.
‘It’s you.’ He nodded again. ‘Instagram girl.’
He recognised her. This was like being in a film. Flushing with delight, she said, ‘It is. I didn’t expect you to see my post.’
‘Oh ye of little faith. And look at you.’ There was that irresistible grin again. ‘How could I forget? Hi, I’m Dane.’
As if she didn’t know. But he was reaching for her hand. She squeaked, ‘I’m Maeve,’ and it came out so high-pitched it almost hurt her own ears.
‘Maeve. Good to meet you. And you said you work here?’
‘I’m one of the cleaners. Until I go away to uni in September.’
‘Studying . . . what?’
‘Physics.’
‘Clever girl.’ He sounded impressed. ‘Good for you. And are you coming along to the event on Sunday?’
She nodded vigorously; she’d bought her ticket online within minutes of hearing about it. ‘I am. I love your work.’
‘Maybe you’ll want to buy one of my paintings.’
That was a nice thought, but it was never going to happen. He sold them for thousands of pounds to eager buyers all over the world. Maeve gave him a bright smile and said, ‘Maybe!’
‘Hello.’ Lizzie, her tone cool and her chin raised, materialised beside them. ‘What brings you over here?’
‘Hey. To be honest, I came to complain about the noise.’ Dane paused, then said, ‘That was a joke. I just wanted to let you know in advance that I’ll be having a bit of a get-together on Sunday afternoon, and some of my visitors might become overexcited. After yesterday’s telling-off, I thought I should give you fair warning.’
Lizzie nodded and said pointedly, ‘Thank you. Always better than no warning at all.’
‘It’s a meet and greet for my fans. Of course, if you wanted to join us, you’d be most welcome.’
‘Except I’m not one of your fans.’
Maeve’s fingertips tingled with alarm; what was this about?
‘You could still give us a try,’ said Dane. ‘Maybe I can win you over.’
‘I think I’ll be busy on Sunday,’ said Lizzie.
‘That’s a shame. Never mind.’ He turned his attention back to Maeve and flashed a smile. ‘We’ll have to have our fun without her, won’t we? She doesn’t know what she’s missing.’
Maeve became aware that the conversation and laughter around them had died down and she was now the centre of attention. Lizzie turned to her. ‘Hang on, are you going to this thing on Sunday? He’s invited you too?’
‘Maeve is a fan of mine,’ said Dane. ‘She bought a ticket. It’s going to be a fantastic event.’ He gestured with a tanned, paint-speckled hand, encompassing the group gathered around them. ‘It’s officially sold out, of course. But hey, I’d love to invite all of you. Do come along.’
And now he was pulling a slim wallet from his back pocket, taking out business cards and handing one to each of them in turn. But all Maeve could think about, as sparks of electricity zipped and zapped around her body, was that Dane Cruse had remembered her name.
‘I had no idea.’ Her father was looking surprised. ‘You didn’t mention this.’
She shrugged. ‘I offered to show you one of his TikToks a while back. You weren’t interested.’
‘Ouch,’ Dane joked.
‘Sorry,’ said Matthew.
‘He’s a brilliant artist,’ Maeve told him. ‘If you look him up online, you’ll see for yourself.’
‘What can I say?’ Dane winked at her. ‘This girl has excellent taste.’
Lizzie glanced from him to Maeve, then nodded at Cami, who was busy topping up glasses. ‘I guess it’s about time we offered our neighbour a drink.’